flower power

FROM "A LESSON LEARNED"
It's springtime in Oklahoma!! Spring brings many things to our great state...green grass, blue skies, flowers blooming, snow cone stands opening and trips to the park!! But it also brings many other things...allergies, wind (and I mean EXTREME wind), mowing the lawn and what we're best known for THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES!!!! Yep! If you live in Oklahoma, have ever lived in Oklahoma or have even visited Oklahoma then you have probably experienced huddling in the closet while the sirens go off around you or, if you're a true Oklahoman, then you may have been standing in your front lawn with your camera while the sirens go off!!! HA!!! Oh, and you probably had a container ready to collect large hail to show off to your friends and neighbors once the storm had passed! Either way, storms and springtime go hand in hand in Oklahoma! It's only mid-May and we've already had our fair share of severe weather for this year. As a matter of fact, as I type I'm watching Channel 4 news as they cover yet another storm moving into Oklahoma City and asking people to take cover, protect their property and prepre for the worst while hoping for the best. As springtime approached and storm season creeped up on us this year I was thinking about what this spring season would be like for us and I couldn't help but think about our new little vegetable garden in the backyard and how the high winds, large hail, tons of rain and even possible tornadoes would effect the delicate little plants we had carefully buried in the soil of our backyard hoping to produce veggies for our family to enjoy. As our garden struggled to take root and even began to grow I realized that some days the soil was moist enough to feed our little plants and some days when we went out to check our little veggie producers they were a bit weak, weepy and dry...requiring us to pull the hose out into the yard and give it a big drink of fresh cool life producing water. One day inparticular as I examined the garden trying to decide if I needed to water, something dawned on me! Our very first garden, small as it may be, knows what it needs when it needs it. If there is enough water in the ground it will soak that water up through its tiny roots and drink it, working for itself and doing everything it can to survive. However, if there is not enough water in the soil the garden shows us signs that it needs help. The leaves of our plants begin to brown, the merrigold flowers begin to droop and the pepper plants look weepy and let's just say it...thirsty!! Although alot of times we have to water our garden ourselves there are times that nature takes care of itself too and those faithful Oklahoma storms roll in and water the garden for us. It's perfect when a mid afternoon springtime rain rolls through and drizzles the earth with sweet smelling rain giving all of nature a big drink! Soon the flowers perk up, the plants look lively and, when the sun shows herself once again, all is well!! However, in good ol' Oklahoma it's quite rare that you just get one of those "sweet afternoon rains." No...usually it's more like severe threatening storms producing softball size hail and 70mph winds!! As all of his falls, I wonder to myself if our baby plants will survive and if they do if they will be able to produce any veggies. The irony is that the garden NEEDS the rain. The garden NEEDS a drink but with that comes the hail, wind, tornadoes and flooding.
Lesson Learned? Sometimes in life, we are just like those frail plants holding on for dear life in the garden. We have been planted. We have a purpose. We want desperately to produce fruit but we need water to do it. There are periods in our lives whne the water flows freely. We have plenty to draw from and living is almost easy! Then there are times when we don't have enough water in our own supply to make it but we know who to turn to for that drink we need to survive. We show signs that we need help and it is given! Then there are other times that we are dry. We are so dry that we are drooping, our leaves are turning brown and we don't have the supply necessary to revive ourselves. We need water. Suddenly, the sky begins to turn dark. The winds pick up. We cry out thinking that things are only getting worse. How could God let this happen? First we are desperate and thirsty and now a storm?? You feel as if the winds are whipping you in all directions, the sky is dark and you feel as if all hope is lost. Then instead of getting better it gets worse yet again. The hail begins. You are getting pummeled, just like that tiny plant. It's painful and aggressive and just when you think you should give up, it happens...the rain begins to fall!!!! It's sweet! It's refreshing! It's calming and wonderful! When it comes down to it, sometimes the very thing you need, that sweet refreshing rain, only comes with a great big storm. It's not easy. It's not even fair, but it happens. Sometimes we have to endure the pain, we have to endure the struggle, we have to endure the dryness and hail before the sweet rain begins to fall. Hang in there! God loves you and He hasn't given up on you. Don't give up on yourself. If you're feeling dry, if you're going through a rough patch or even what feels like a rough marathon just keep going. It may feel like you're in the midst of heavy winds or baseball size hail or even have been whipped up into an actual tornado but there is a calm after the storm! You will get what you need! The rain always comes and the sunshine aways returns! You will produce fruit again! I'm reminded of a song that I used to listen to when I was a teenager and felt as if all I was doing was being overlooked and/or didn't matter at all. The lyrics of the song say:

Never said there wouldn't be trials
Never said I wouldn't fall
Never said that everything would go the way I want it to go
But when my back is against the wall
And I feel all hope is gone
I just life my head up to the sky
And say help me to be strong
I just can't give up now
I've come too far from where I started from
Nobody told me the road would be easy
But I can't beleive He's brought me this far to leave me

He won't leave you! He's doing a great work just as He promised! He has a plan! Remember, the rain is life giving and it WILL come!